Special County Wide Tax Up for Renewal at Phenix City

RUSSELL COUNTY, GA (WXTX) - Decision Day is fast approaching for voters in Alabama. A tax renewal election will be held February 2, 2010.

Voters will decide whether to continue paying 13 mills in property taxes. Phenix City Schools Superintendent, Dr. Larry DiChiara, says if the tax doesn't pass, it will be devastating on the school systems as well the county commission.

The Phenix Schools, Russell County Schools and the Russell County Commission receive over $6 million in revenue generated from the Special County-Wide Tax. Phenix City Schools would lose $3.2 million, Russell County Schools see a $2.7 million cut and the commission $218,000.

"We have already seen huge cuts due to proration. Instead of firing teachers and staff, we've trimmed back in other ways. We've reduced the number of children in classes; we've decided not to buy as many school buses as we need. We've been hit pretty hard and to lose the tax would hurt us even more," says DiChiara.

The tax goes up for renewal every 30 years. This is the first time voters have been asked to renew the tax. If it passes, the tax will need to be renewed again in 2040.

Every Thursday during the first nine weeks of the school year, the men of Omega will read to male students in grades kindergarten through third grade at Dimon Elementary School. ( Source: Walter McKee)

Lambda Iota, the local chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, has partnered with an elementary school in Columbus to show male students the importance of reading.

The Pennsylvania Judicial Center serves as an administrative headquarters for Pennsylvania’s courts which are administered by the Supreme Court. (Source: Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania)

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A woman was initially being stopped for the faulty equipment on her moped but was arrested for the number of drugs found in a bottle during a search, Springdale Police said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

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